U.S. patent number 6,975,719 [Application Number 10/159,377] was granted by the patent office on 2005-12-13 for integrated chat client with called party choice.
This patent grant is currently assigned to BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation. Invention is credited to Xiaofeng Gao, David Scott.
United States Patent |
6,975,719 |
Gao , et al. |
December 13, 2005 |
Integrated chat client with called party choice
Abstract
Phone systems for an integrated chat client service are
provided. A representative phone system includes a call processing
system operable to check a chat server for accessibility of a
calling party chat client associated with a calling party and
coupled to the internet, the call processing system being further
operable to prompt a called party to select to talk or chat.
Methods to connect telephone calls and answer telephone calls are
also provided.
Inventors: |
Gao; Xiaofeng (Alpharetta,
GA), Scott; David (Norcross, GA) |
Assignee: |
BellSouth Intellectual Property
Corporation (Wilmington, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
35452652 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/159,377 |
Filed: |
May 30, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
379/265.09;
379/900 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L
51/04 (20130101); H04M 7/0027 (20130101); H04M
7/0045 (20130101); H04M 2207/12 (20130101); Y10S
379/90 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04M 003/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;370/260,261,270
;379/93.21,93.24,158,202.01,219,221.08,221.09,265.09,900
;709/204 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
"Instant Messaging" notation made on Information Disclosure
Statement submitted in conjunction with this document. .
US Patent Application Entitled: Integrated Chat Client with Calling
Party Choice; filed May 30, 2002; U.S. Appl. No. 10/159,314. .
US Patent Application Entitled: DSL Integrated Call Waiting; filed
May 30, 2002; U.S. Appl. No. 10/159,306..
|
Primary Examiner: Bui; Bing Q.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Thomas, Kayden, Horstemeyer &
Risley
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A phone system, comprising: a first call processing system
element operable to check a chat server for accessibility of a
calling party chat client associated with a calling party; and a
second call processing system element operable to prompt a called
party to select to talk or chat.
2. A phone system, comprising: a first call processing system
element operable to check a chat server for accessibility of a
calling party chat client associated with a calling party; and a
second call processing system element operable to prompt a called
party to select to talk or chat, wherein the first call processing
system element includes a service control point operable to receive
a query and to check a chat server for accessibility of a calling
party chat client associated with a calling party, the chat server
being coupled to the internet and the service control point; and
wherein the second call processing system element includes a
service node coupled to the service control point and operable to
prompt a called party to select either talk or chat.
3. The phone system of claim 2, wherein the chat server is operable
to send chat invitations to the calling party chat client and a
called party chat client upon the called party selecting to chat
with the calling party.
4. The phone system of claim 3, wherein the service control point
is operable to instruct a voice call to be connected upon the
called party selecting to talk to the calling party.
5. The phone system of claim 4, wherein the service control point
is further operable to check whether the called party has a chat
client registered through a chat server.
6. The phone system of claim 4, further comprising: a service
switching point coupled to a called party telephone and the service
control point, and operable to send the query to the service
control point upon receiving a voice call request.
7. The phone system of claim 6, wherein the service control point
instructs the service switching point to forward the voice call
request to the service node upon finding the calling party chat
client registered with the chat server.
8. The phone system of claim 7, wherein the service switching point
is further operable to connect the voice call upon a receipt of a
connect voice call instruction from the service control point.
9. The phone system of claim 2, wherein the chat server is further
operable to update a first database, the first database comprising
information used to connect a plurality of chat clients.
10. The phone system of claim 9, wherein the chat server is further
operable to search and update a second database, the second
database comprising information about which of the plurality chat
clients are registered with the chat server.
11. The phone system of claim 10, wherein the second database
further comprises information about which of the plurality of chat
clients registered with the application server are present at a
computer to chat.
12. The phone system of claim 11, wherein the second database
further comprises information about which of the plurality of chat
clients registered with the application server would like to be
prompted about availability of an option to chat.
13. The phone system of claim 12, wherein the service control point
is operable to check the second database for registration, presence
and availability, and then instruct a service switching point to
forward a phone call causing the call query to the service
node.
14. The phone system of claim 2, further comprising: a first
internet service provider coupled to a calling party terminal
associated with the calling party; and a second internet service
provider coupled to a called party terminal associated with the
called party.
15. The phone system of claim 14, wherein the first internet
service provider is the same as the second internet service
provider.
16. The phone system of claim 14, wherein the first internet
service provider is different than the second internet service
provider.
17. The phone system of claim 2, further comprising: means for
coupling a calling party terminal associated with the calling party
to the internet; and means for coupling a called party terminal
associated with the called party to the internet.
18. The phone system of claim 2, wherein the chat server is an
instant messaging server and the chat client is an instant
messaging client.
19. The phone system of claim 2, wherein the chat client is a
custom application configured to run on a called party terminal
associated and on a calling party terminal, associated with the
called and calling parties, respectively.
20. A method for connecting phone calls, comprising the steps of:
checking for accessibility of a calling party chat client
associated with a calling party; and prompting a called party to
choose to either talk or chat if the calling party chat client is
accessible.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising: sending a chat
invitation to the called and calling parties, inviting initiation
of a chat session when the called party chooses to chat.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: connecting a voice
call when the called party chooses to talk.
23. The method of claim 20, wherein the method further comprises:
checking whether the called party has a called party chat client
accessible.
24. The method of claim 20, further comprising: starting an inquiry
upon receiving a voice call request.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the method further comprises:
forwarding the voice call request to prompt the called party to
choose when the calling party chat client is accessible.
26. The method of claim 25, further comprising: updating a first
database, the first database comprising information used to connect
a plurality of chat clients.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising: using the first
database to connect the chat session when the called party chooses
to chat.
28. The method of claim 20, further comprising: providing a first
internet service provider coupled to a calling party terminal
associated with the calling party.
29. The method of claim 20, further comprising: providing a second
internet service provider coupled to a called party terminal
associated with the called party.
30. The method of claim 20, wherein the chat session is initiated
over by an instant messaging client.
31. A method, for connecting phone calls, comprising the steps of:
checking for accessibility of a calling party chat client
associated with a calling party; and prompting a called party to
choose to either talk or chat if the calling party chat client is
accessible, wherein checking for accessibility comprises: updating
a second database, the second database comprising information about
which of a plurality chat clients are registered with the chat
server; and searching a second database for registration of the
calling party chat client.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein the second database further
comprises information about which of the plurality of chat clients
registered are present at a terminal to chat, and checking for
accessibility further comprises: searching the second database for
presence of the calling party chat client.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the second database further
comprises information about which of the plurality of chat clients
registered with the application server have a preference to chat,
and checking for accessibility further comprises: searching the
second database for the preference of a called party chat
client.
34. A method of answering a call, comprising: receiving a first
indication of an incoming call; answering the incoming call; and
receiving a second prompt to choose either to talk or chat, when a
calling party chat client associated with a calling party is
accessible.
35. The method of claim 34, further comprising: setting a called
party chat client associated with a called party to be
accessible.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein the called party uses the
internet to set the called party chat client to be accessible.
37. The method of claim 36, wherein the calling party uses the
internet to set the calling party chat client to be accessible.
38. The method of claim 37, further comprising: chatting with the
calling party upon choosing to chat; and talking with the calling
party upon choosing to talk.
39. The method of claim 37, wherein accessibility of a calling
party computer associated with a calling party depends upon
presence of a registration with an application server.
40. The method of claim 39, wherein accessibility of the calling
party computer further depends upon a preference of the called
party toward chat sessions.
41. The method of claim 40, wherein accessibility of the calling
party computer further depends upon an availability of the calling
party computer, wherein the calling party computer is unavailable
when the calling party computer has been inactive for a period of
time.
42. The method of claim 41, wherein the calling party computer can
be made unavailable by the calling party.
43. The method of claim 37, wherein the second prompt further
comprises the choice to send the call to call waiting.
44. The method of claim 43, wherein the second prompt further
comprises the choice to place the call on hold.
45. A method of answering a call, comprising the steps of:
receiving a first indication of an incoming call; answering the
incoming call; and receiving a second prompt to choose either to
talk or chat, when a calling party chat client associated with a
calling party is accessible, wherein: accessibility of a calling
party computer associated with a calling party depends upon
presence of a registration with an application server;
accessibility of the calling party computer further depends upon a
preference of the called party toward chat sessions; accessibility
of the calling party computer further depends upon an availability
of the calling party computer, the calling party computer being
unavailable when the calling party computer has been inactive for a
period of time; wherein the calling party computer can be made
unavailable by the calling party; and a called party computer
associated with the called party can set a preference on the called
party computer such that the called party does not receive the
second prompt.
46. A computer readable medium having a program for connecting
phone calls, the program performing the steps of: checking
accessibility of a calling party chat client associated with a
calling party; and prompting a called party to choose to either
talk or electronically chat if the calling party chat client is
accessible.
47. The medium of claim 46, wherein the program further performs
the steps of: sending electronic chat invitations to the called
party and the calling party if the called party chooses to
electronically chat; and initiating an electronic chat session when
the called party and the calling party accept the electronic chat
invitations.
48. The medium of claim 46, wherein the program performs the step
of checking accessibility in response to a voice call connection
request and the program further performs the step of: terminating
the voice call connection request after the electronic chat session
is initiated.
49. The medium of claim 46, wherein the program further performs
the step of: checking whether the called party has a called party
chat client accessible.
50. The medium of claim 46, wherein the program performs the step
of checking accessibility in response to a voice call connection
request and the program further performs the step of: connecting a
voice call when the called party chooses to talk.
51. The method of claim 46, wherein accessibility of a calling
party computer associated with a calling party depends upon
presence of a registration with an electronic chat server.
52. The method of claim 51, wherein accessibility of the calling
party computer further depends upon a preference of the called
party toward chat sessions.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is generally related to telecommunications
and more particularly to the integration of telephone systems and
internet applications.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
The telecommunications industry has undergone rapid changes in the
past several years. With the development of the advanced
intelligent network (AIN), telephone companies are poised to offer
a multitude of new services to subscribers. Typically, AINs provide
a more flexible handling of telephone calls. This flexibility is
provided by a complex packet-switched network which allows for high
speed communication and high volume traffic. One example of an AIN
is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,301 and U.S. Pat. No.
5,838,774, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
AIN embodiments in the United States use a signaling system 7 (SS7)
protocol to transport messages. Instead of circuit switching, the
AIN relies on soft switching to provide high speed routing for
telephone calls. The AIN comprises service switching points (SSPs),
service nodes (SNs), signal transfer points (STPs), and service
control points (SCPs). An SSP is typically an AIN-compatible
switching office. The SN is a smart termination device that
assesses incoming call information and make appropriate
connections. The SSPs are connected by a number of STPs which
transfer data among the SSPs and between the SSPs and SCPs. The
STPs can generally be described as the routers which read the
packet and transfer it to the called party SSP. Finally, the SCP is
typically a fault tolerant computer that is coupled to a central
database. This central database comprises a host of subscriber and
routing information.
For better understanding a call routing sequence on an SS7 network
will now be described. Typically, when a call is placed a calling
party dials a telephone number and an SSP receives the place call
request and routes it to the proper SSP associated with the called
party. When the called party SSP receives the call request, it
causes a trigger to fire. This trigger then causes the SSP to send
a query across the STPs to an SCP. The query typically comprises
asking the SCP how the call should be handled, such as specific
subscriber instructions and any other specific routing information
that is necessary. After receiving handling information from the
SCP, the SSP uses these instructions to create a packet to send
across the STPs to the called party SSP. The called party SSP then
triggers and asks the SCP for subscriber-specific handling
information for the called party. Typically the SCP will merely
instruct the SSP to connect the call, however, the called party may
have special instructions for incoming calls.
As was noted above, the AIN allows for subscriber-specific handling
instructions. However, there presently is no mechanism by which a
called party can keep his/her side of the conversation private from
others who may be present in the room. Therefore, there is a need
for systems and methods that address these and/or other perceived
shortcomings of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment, among others, of the present invention provides
systems and methods for an integrated chat client having a called
party choice. A representative system includes a call processing
system operable to check a chat server for accessibility of a
calling party chat client associated with a calling party and
coupled to the internet, the call processing system being further
operable to prompt a called party to select to talk or chat.
An example method to connect phone calls includes: receiving a
voice call request; checking for accessibility of a calling party
chat client associated with a calling party; and prompting a called
party to choose either talk or chat if the calling party chat
client is accessible.
An example method for answering phone calls is provided, whereby
the method includes: receiving a first prompt indicating an
incoming call; answering the incoming call; and receiving a second
prompt to choose either to talk or chat, when a calling party chat
client associated with a calling party is accessible.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present
invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art
upon examination of the following drawings and detailed
description. It is intended that all such additional systems,
methods, features, and advantages included within this description,
be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by
the accompanying claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention can be better understood with reference to the
following drawings. The components in the drawings are not
necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly
illustrating the principles of the present invention.
Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate
corresponding parts throughout the several views.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment, among
others, of the present invention.
FIG. 2A is a flowchart showing the operation of the first
embodiment of the present invention, among others.
FIG. 2B is a flowchart showing the operation by which a computer is
made accessible with respect to FIG. 2A.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment, among
others, of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a call flow diagram detailing the operation of the
embodiment shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of using the integrated
chat client shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The invention now will be described more fully with reference to
the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied
in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to
the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are
intended to convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in
the art. Furthermore, all "examples" given herein are intended to
be non-limiting.
Referring now to FIG. 1, shown is a block diagram of one
embodiment, among others, of the present invention. In this
embodiment a calling party location 100 preferably includes a
standard plain-old telephone system (POTS) phone 101 operating
substantially within the POTS frequency range. The POTS frequency
range is typically defined as the frequency range of 0 to 4
kilohertz (kHz), which contains substantially the range of
frequencies which are audible to the human ear. The phone 101 is
typically connected to a switching system 102 by a connection 103.
The switching system 102 routes calls placed by a calling party to
a called party telephone 104, which is connected to the switching
system 102 through a connection 105. The to called party telephone
104 is preferably a standard POTS telephone and resides at a called
party location 106. The switching system 102 generally includes a
network of switches which are connected to a call processing system
107 through a connection 108. During operation the switching system
102 receives call routing information which is stored on the call
processing system 107. Further, the call processing system 107 can
store any subscriber-specific information on call handling. In
other words, for example, if the called party has subscribed to
caller-identification (caller-ID), the call processing system 107
instructs the switching system 102 to include a caller-ID
information packet with a call attempt indication (ring) sent to
the caller on line 105. The indication typically includes an aural
prompt such as ringing, however, it can include other sensory
prompts, such as vibration, etc.
Another service that can be provided to the called party is an
integrated chat client service, called party choice, which is
embodied by the present invention. Generally, the switch associated
with the called party will trigger a query to the call processing
system 107 when an incoming call is received. When the called party
has subscribed to the integrated chat client service, the call
processing system 107 contacts a network 109 through link 110 to
search network computer accessibility. Specifically, the call
processing system 107 searches for the accessibility of a calling
party computer 111 connected to the network 109 by link 112.
If a calling party computer 111 is not accessible, the call
processing system 107 instructs the switching system 102 to attempt
to connect the call by ringing the called party telephone 104.
However, if a calling party computer 111 is accessible, after the
call processing system 107 instructs the switching system 102 to
ring the called party telephone 104, the called party telephone 104
rings, and the called party telephone is answered, the call
processing system 107 sends a prompt, such as a recorded voice
message from an interactive voice recording (IVR) system to the
called party telephone 104. The prompt notifies the called party
through the called party telephone 104 that the calling party
computer 111 is accessible and prompts the called party to choose
to chat with the calling party or talk with the calling party.
If the called party chooses to talk, a voice connection is made
between calling party telephone 101 and called party telephone 104
by the switching system 102 using instructions from the call
processing system 107. However, if the called party chooses to
chat, the call processing system 107 retrieves network addresses of
called party computer 113 and calling party computer 111. The call
processing system 107 then sends a chat invitation to the network
addresses corresponding to the calling party computer 111 and
called party computer 113 through a connection 114. The voice call
may then be terminated, or alternatively, the call processing
system 107 may send the calling party telephone 101 notification of
the called party's election to chat rather than talk.
In alternative embodiments, the call processing system 107 may
search for accessibility of calling party computer 111 and called
party computer 113. However, one skilled in the art will recognize
that the called party is already aware of whether the called party
computer 113 is accessible, and may choose to chat or not to chat,
accordingly. Moreover, the called party might make the called party
computer 113 accessible to chat with the calling party computer 111
upon learning that the calling party computer 111 is
accessible.
One skilled in the art will immediately recognize an abundance of
chat clients presently available that may be used in conjunction
with the present invention. Some of the more popular of these chat
clients include: MSN Messenger, available from Microsoft, Corp. of
Redmond, Wash.; Yahoo! Messenger, available from Yahoo!, Inc. of
Sunnyvale, Calif.; AOL Instant Messenger, available from America
Online, Inc. of Dulles, Va.; and Jabber Instant Messenger,
available from Jabber, Inc. of Denver, Colo. One skilled in the art
will further recognize that the Jabber Instant Messenger comprises
an open systems architecture. Open systems architectures generally
allow a user to manipulate the source program to tailor the client
to specific needs of each individual user. Used in this context,
the open system architecture could facilitate the development of a
custom application to be provided with the integrated chat client.
One skilled in the art will further recognize the existence of UNIX
and LINUX chat programs and other programs, such as text messaging
on wireless phones, that allow text communication between two
parties. In alternative embodiments, each of these alternative text
communication applications are intended to be included within the
scope of the present invention. Generally, as understood herein,
chat clients at least provide some type of text-based
communication, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the
invention.
It should be further recognized that, presently, there is no
interoperability of chat services. Each uses a different server and
a different database to connect the plurality of users that use a
particular chat client. It can be compared to a situation whereby
customers of one phone company would be prevented from calling
customers of another phone company. This could pose a problem,
generally referred to as the network effect, to widespread
acceptance of the integrated chat client service. The network
effect generally refers to the situation whereby a service becomes
more valuable to a consumer when more consumers subscribe to the
same service, thereby forming a network.
The most straightforward solution to the network effect is to
create interoperability between the numerous different chat
services that exist. There is a push within the internet community
to create a universal chat program and sharing of client databases,
along with several proposals to create interoperability among chat
clients, however, there remains no industry consensus. As is often
the case, it is difficult to get competing entities to share
customer information that may help competing service providers.
Another solution to the problem could be for the telephone service
provider to provide a custom application to all of its subscribers.
In this way, the telephone service provider can create an instant
network of users. However, the telephone service provider would
still have to compete with the other chat service providers.
Moreover, a calling party could be inaccessible to the telephone
service provider network, even though it may have an accessible
chat client installed. The advantage to this solution is that the
telephone service provider will have direct access to the chat
server, which would likely be faster than requesting the chat
information from a third party.
Yet another solution to the network effect could be to form
alliances between the telephone service provider and chat service
providers. This solution is similar to the interoperability
solution, however, it involves agreement between the telephone
service provider and the chat service provider. For this solution,
the telephone service provider could merely have access to query
the chat server and request chat invitations be sent to accessible
party chat clients.
A further alternative embodiment, among others, of the present
invention includes checking a network database to ascertain the
accessibility of the calling party computer 111 or the called party
computer 113. This database could include a number of different
fields regarding customizable options. One such field could
comprise a list of customers that have a chat client registered
with the database on the network. This field would be similar to
the so-called "buddy list" commonly used on many instant messaging
clients. When a user opened a chat client and entered his/her user
identification (handle) and password, the chat client would
automatically record that handle as present with the accessibility
database.
Another useful field could be an availability field. The
availability field could be a field similar to a sleep mode on a
computer. When a user has not accessed the chat client for a
pre-determined amount of time, or has told the chat client that
he/she will be away from the computer, the chat client will still
show the chat client as present, however, the chat client will be
listed as unavailable, and hence inaccessible.
The network could also keep track of a preference field. These
preferences could be set by the users regarding their instant
messaging clients. For example, one user might prefer to get
invitations to chat, while another may not want to be bothered with
chat invitations at the present time. These chat clients which
prefer not to be bothered with chat invitations would be listed as
inaccessible. Furthermore, the called party may not want to receive
an IVR every time an incoming call is received from a calling party
with an accessible computer. In this case, the called party can set
his/her accessibility database to show their chat client is
inaccessible, and the call processing system 107 considers the
called party accessibility during operation.
Referring now to FIG. 2A, shown is a flowchart illustrating the
operation of one embodiment, among others, of the present
invention. In block 200 a voice call connection request is received
at a switch. This voice call connection request triggers a query to
the call processing system 107, illustrated by block 202, to check
for subscriber-specific handling information. Though not shown, if
a subscriber does not subscribe to an integrated chat service, the
call is processed conventionally, and the process of FIG. 2A
terminates. If a subscriber subscribes to the integrated chat
client service, in block 204 the call processing system 107 checks
for an accessible computer 111 associated with the calling party.
If there is no accessible associated computer 111, in block 206 the
call processing system 107 instructs the switch to connect the
voice call. However, if there is a computer associated with the
calling party that is accessible, in block 208 the call processing
system 107 then instructs that a prompt be sent to the called party
telephone 104. In block 210, the called party is then prompted. In
one embodiment, among others, the prompt can be an interactive
voice response (IVR) prompt that asks the called party if he or she
would like to chat instead of talk. If the called party chooses not
to chat (i.e. to talk) the voice call is connected, as illustrated
by block 206. However, if the called party chooses to chat, in
block 212 the call processing system 107 instructs that chat
invitations be sent to the calling party computer 111 and to the
called party computer 113. When both parties accept the chat
invitations, they may begin chatting, as illustrated by block 214.
Finally, in block 216, the voice call connections request is
dropped, and the parties are allowed to continue chatting over the
network.
One skilled in the art will note that, with respect to block 204,
and as discussed with reference to FIG. 1, the call processing
system 107 may further check whether a network computer 113
associated with the called party is accessible. This feature is
particularly useful when the network 109 allows users to specify
options which can make the computer 113 inaccessible, even though
it is on the network 109. Thus, a called party will not be bothered
with an IVR prompt after the called party has already stated
his/her own preferences through the network connection.
Referring now to FIG. 2B, shown is a flowchart illustrating a
method by which a computer (either the calling party computer 111
or called party computer 113) is made accessible to the integrated
chat client service. In general, it would be preferable if all
computers operated according to the method of FIG. 2B, however, the
method could work even if only a handful of network computers
operated according to the method of FIG. 2B. As shown in block 250,
the user first boots the network computer. Then in block 252, the
network computer registers with a network server. Typically a
computer registers with the network either during the startup
process, or when the user decides to use the internet. Then, as
shown in block 254, the user can adjust a number of options to make
the computer accessible to other users for chat session
invitations.
Some of these options can be automated, while others may require
user input to change. A few such options, among a plurality of
others, could be: presence, wherein the computer is either
registered or not registered with the server; preference, wherein
the user has requested not to be available for chat sessions; and
availability, wherein the user has left his/her chat client
inactive for a period of time, or has indicated to the network
computer that he/she will be unavailable. One skilled in the art
will recognize numerous other accessibility options that can be
configured to provide a user with enough flexibility for almost any
situation.
Referring now to FIG. 3, shown is a schematic diagram of one
example a system, among others, made according to FIG. 1. As is
shown, a calling party telephone 300 is connected to a PSTN/SS7
protocol network 302. The SS7 protocol network includes a plurality
of service switching points 304, which in turn are connected to a
plurality of telephones, including the called party telephone 306.
The called and calling parties have associated computers 308, 310,
respectively. Each of these computers can be connected to the
internet 312. As is known to those skilled in the art, internet
connections can come in a variety of different forms. A few such
forms include: a wireless local area network connection 314,
through an internet service provider (ISP) 316; a direct connection
to the ISP 316; a dial-up modem through the PSTN 302; a digital
subscriber line through the PSTN 302; and a cable modem (not
shown). Although the calling party computer 310 is shown connected
to as the internet 312 through the PSTN 302, the calling party
computer 310 may be connected with any of the methods enumerated
above, or any other method for connecting to the internet 312.
The PSTN/SS7 protocol network is further connected to a secured
intranet 318, controlled by the telephone service provider, for
example. The secured intranet 318 includes a service control point
320, a service node 322, both of which are coupled to an
application server 324, containing a customer profile database 326
and a presence, preference and availability database 328.
One skilled in the art will recognize that each telephone service
provider has a slightly different implementation of the AIN system,
and often component names differ some between these
implementations. Each of these alternative implementations of the
AIN system is intended to be included within the scope of the
present invention. Furthermore, the fact that the AIN and SS7
protocol are used in exemplary embodiments of the present invention
is not intended to limit the present invention to these particular
implementations of intelligent networks (INs). Any IN or phone
network with the ability to deliver customized phone service has
the potential ability to advantageously utilize the present
invention.
Referring now to FIG. 4, shown is a call flow diagram illustrating
the operation of one embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG.
3. As one skilled in the art will recognize the system involves
making the calling and called party computers 300, 306 accessible
to chat prior to placing a telephone call. First a calling party
places a call to the called party.
When the call is received at the called party SSP 304, a
termination attempt trigger fires. The termination attempt trigger
then causes the SSP 304 to send a query to the SCP 320. The SCP 320
generally contains a database of subscriber-specific profiles and
call routing information. When the SCP 320 receives the query from
the SSP 304, the SCP 320 searches the database for a
subscriber-specific profile. The subscriber-specific profile, for
this example, includes the integrated chat client service.
In this embodiment, the SCP 320 then instructs an application/chat
server 324 to search its database 328 to check if the called and
calling parties have active chat sessions and to see if the calling
party chat session is set up to accept chat invitations. If both
parties have active chat session and are accepting chat
invitations, the SCP 320 instructs the SSP 304 to forward the call
request to the service node.
The SSP 304 then forwards the call to the service node 322, which
rings the called party telephone 306 and uses an IVR to prompt the
called party with an option to chat or to talk with the calling
party. One skilled in the art will recognize that the service node
322 may further include caller identification information to
facilitate the choice of whether to chat or to talk. When the
called party does not wish to chat, a voice call is connected.
However, when the called party chooses to chat, the service node
322 then instructs the application/chat server 324 to send a chat
invitation to each of the parties. The application/chat server then
sends greetings to the called and calling parties computers 308,
310, and a chat session is started between the calling and called
parties.
Referring now to FIG. 5, shown is a flowchart illustrating a method
for answering a telephone call using the integrated chat client
service. According to the first block 500, the called party
telephone 306 receives an indication signifying an incoming
telephone call. Typically, this indication is a signal for
generating a sound such as a ringing telephone, however, it could
easily be of another notification type. Then, as illustrated by
block 502, the called party answers the telephone 306. The called
party is then prompted, in block 504, to choose whether or not he
or she would like to chat with the calling party. If the called
party does not wish to chat with the calling party, the call is
connected, as illustrated by block 506. If the called party does
wish to chat, as in block 508, the called party will hang-up the
phone 306 and accept an invitation sent to his computer from the
application/chat server.
The systems described herein would provide the user with the
flexibility to communicate with a calling party without making
his/her side of the conversation available to others in the area.
For example such communication could be invaluable to an employee
who is looking for a new job and would like to keep it secret from
his/her supervisor and co-workers. Another situation in which such
a system would be useful may occur during the purchase of a new
home, when lenders might call the workplace of the buyer and
request sensitive information such as salary and/or net worth,
which the employee does not want to share with his/her
co-workers.
Process and function descriptions and blocks in flow charts can be
understood as representing, in some embodiments, modules, segments,
or portions of code which include one or more executable
instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps
in the process, and alternate implementations are included within
the scope of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in
which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or
discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse
order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be
understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present
invention. In addition, such functional elements can be implemented
as logic embodied in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination
thereof, among others. In some embodiments involving software
implementations, such software comprises an ordered listing of
executable instructions for implementing logical functions and can
be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in
connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or
device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing
system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the
instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the
instructions. In the context of this document, a computer-readable
medium can be any means that can contain, store, communicate,
propagate, or transport the software for use by or in connection
with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the
present invention are merely possible examples of implementations
set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the
invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the
above-described embodiment(s) of the invention without departing
substantially from the principles of the invention. All such
modifications and variations are intended to be included herein
within the scope of this disclosure and the present invention and
protected by the following claims.
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